Richard Nigel Cullen, (5 June 1917 – 4 March 1941) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as sixteen aerial victories before being killed in action during the Battle of Greece. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Cullen was living in London and had already seen action in the Spanish Civil War when he joined the RAF in 1937. Following the outbreak of World War II, he served initially as a transport pilot with No. 267 Squadron in the Middle East before seeking reassignment to fighters. He was then posted to No. 80 Squadron, flying Gloster Gladiator biplanes, and claimed six Axis aircraft before the unit converted to Hawker Hurricanes. Nicknamed "Ape" due to his physical bulk, Cullen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for destroying five enemy aircraft in a single sortie on 28 February 1941. He was credited with another four victories in the one engagement on 3 March; the next day, he was shot down and killed while on escort duty over Albania, by a Regia Aeronautica Fiat G.50bis, at age twenty-three. Early career Born in Newcastle, New South Wales on 5 June 1917, Nigel Cullen was the son of Horace David Cullen (originally Horace David Cohen) and his wife Hero. The boy's uncle was future Major General Paul Alfred Cullen. Nigel was taken to England at an early age by his parents and attended Sherborne School in Dorset, before studying at the College of Aero Engineering, Chelsea. Fired by a love of adventure, he competed in motorbike racing at Brooklands in 1934, and later saw action as a member of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, suffering a wound to the stomach that necessitated repatriation to England. When he caught up again with his friends from Brooklands, he was reluctant to talk about the conflict except to say that "the wars of the future would be fought in the air". Cullen was living in Putney when he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1937, and was granted a short-service commission as an acting pilot officer on 9 August. Completing his probation the following May, he was promoted to flying officer on 31 December 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. Posted to the Middle East, his early wartime service was with No. 267 Squadron, a transport